Menachem-Av, 5779

August 2019



For the second time in a year, the Big Island of Hawaii is in international headlines.


First, was the volcanic eruption of Kilauea which captured our fascination, as we witnessed red-hot lava shooting up in the air; we were mesmerized in awe and trepidation by the sight of blazing rivers flowing down the mountain, threatening entire communities.

Now, there is an eruption of human emotion, an intense, fiery debate, with anger and outrage flying high, and nationwide - even worldwide - rallies being held, over an indigenous community feeling threatened to its core existence.

Both incidents threatened to change the landscape of the mountain and its surrounding environment - one topographical, the other spiritual.

(How to resolve the current heated divide over the TMT (Thirty Meter Telescope) will be the subject of another essay.)

As a Jew living in Hawaii, there is a particularly deep chord struck, in this unfolding of events.

Many Jews whom I know well and am good friends with, have joined these rallies, in support of the Native Hawaiians’ cultural and historic connection to their ancestral land, and have marched against the provocation of what they perceive as sacreligious to their most sacred mountain. 

Why is this debate so close to my heart? 

Why is there such resonance with the issues?

Well, let’s step back a second and recall what is it about Mauna-Kea that is triggering the Hawaiian Natives so deeply?

Hawaiian Culture, dating back to approximately 1500 years ago (!), considers Hawaii’s tallest mountain to be a point of connection between heaven and earth. The summit is considered the “Temple of the Supreme Being”. As a result, it is deemed sacred. No wonder it’s so super sensitive, when an outside (corporate) entity wants to occupy that area and manipulate it, without respecting it’s deep spiritual significance and honor its ancestral connection.

Well, did you know that the Jewish People, whose origins date back over 3330 years ago (!), and whose Native Homeland is the Land of Israel, also have a mountain they deem sacred as a connection point between heaven and earth?

In our tradition, the epicenter of the Divine manifestation (Shechina) on earth was in the Holy of Holies, on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem - the very place where Solomon’s Temple stood for over 400 years, and the 2nd Temple (Herod’s), for another 430 years.

And yet, today, not only is our connection to the area being contested, it is in fact forbidden for Jews to pray on Temple Mount, or they will be arrested!


Where is the outrage?!

I can’t help but wonder if the Jews of Hawaii, who are so disturbed by the events on Mauna Kea - and perhaps rightfully so - are even bothered in the slightest about the assault to their very own sacred mountain, which is occupied by a foreign entity, claiming it as their own, actively destroying any historical evidence of our (even scientifically proven, never mind Biblical) connection to the area, and who bar us entry into our holiest site, to the point of death-threats!


I’ve heard people make light of the issue, saying things like “why are you guys fighting over a little real-estate?” or, “We have to accept the status-quo, or there will be another war”, etc.

I’m not getting into the deeply historical, spiritual and cultural significance of the Temple Mount.

I’m only here to draw a parallel, or a contrast, and ask the burning question - why the inconsistency?

Perhaps it’s time to ask ourselves, individually and collectively, why we are more concerned with the adopted culture - albeit magnificent in many ways - of our host nation/state, than with our own rich, deeply spiritual and sacred culture and tradition, which is at least equally (if not more) significant.

I know many Jews who will proudly wear a Hawaiian shirt but not dare don a Kippah in public. Or, who can skillfully blow the conch-shell but have never picked up a Shofar. We have become familiarized with Hawaiian lingo, but don’t know how to read Alef-Bet.

The truth is, it’s not their fault. We’ve been exiled for nearly 2000 years! That’s longer than the Hawaiian People have existed. No wonder we’ve drifted, not only geographically, but existentially.

Imagine a Hawaiian youngster who couldn’t care less about Mauna Kea, and his ancestors’ heritage. Wouldn’t you feel sad that this youth is so disconnected from his roots, that he is apathetic to the whole discussion?

Perhaps the Hawaiian People are providing us with a mirror, to reflect on our very own predicament? Perhaps the Natives are good examples of how a people ought to be moved to the core when their core, sacred places of worship are trampled on?

We have what to learn from the Hawaiians.

This Sunday, August 11 (known as Tisha B’Av) is the anniversary of when our own Temple Mount, our Mauna Kea, was horrifically attacked and taken from us, nearly 2000 years ago.

We mourn and fast, over the destruction of our Sacred Temple of the Supreme Being, where heaven touches earth, and the Divine presence is most at home.

We protest against the injustice of a people being denied the right to pray or even enter, its most sacred site, and the abhorrent misrepresentation to the world of the real truth and the facts. 

But more importantly, we pray for the restoration of this sacred site to its inherent, rightful use, to its former glory and even greater. Every day, for almost 2000 years now, Jews have been praying for the rebuilding of the 3rd and final Temple in Jerusalem, which will be part of the Messianic era of peace on earth, where “nation shall not lift up sword against nation” for the “world shall be filled with the knowledge of the (One) G*d, as the waters cover the sea”.

So, this Sunday, take a moment to reflect.

Take a moment to ponder our own “Mauna Kea”, to ask yourself, “where is my concern for my own sacred heritage?” 

More importantly, consider consciously shifting from apathy to empathy, from disconnectedness to deepened concern. Let’s educate ourselves about our own culture, heritage and history.

Let’s take pride in our very own ancestral language, traditions, alphabet, music, and wisdom.

Let’s be proudly Jewish, even in Hawaii. Especially in Hawaii.